1. Field of the Invention
An omni-directional material or load handling transporter device having a lower air film transport and support mechanism utilizing a scissors principle to raise and lower the upper platform on which is supported a second air film transfer platform.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the material handling field all types of devices are used to move or relocate heavy or bulky objects. Fork lift trucks and overhead cranes are the two most popular devices to move heavy, bulky or palletized loads.
It is commonplace that cranes and fork lift trucks have heretofor been used in the loading and unloading of molds or dies in large horizontal type presses such as used in the injection molding or die casting industry. Here the molds or dies are moved and raised into position by a fork lift truck or by a bi-directional overhead crane. In many cases the ceiling room or overhead clearing is restricted and extraordinary and sometimes dangerous methods are used to install a die or mold into place in a machine. In many cases a mold can weigh as much as 50,000 pounds and can cause difficulty when being moved into place by a fork-lift truck, for example. The load must be raised and positioned between the plates of the machine and with such an overhung load hanging on the forks, an unstable condition in equilibrium of the truck can occur.
A device such as described in the Flipse U.S. Pat. No. 3,124,209 uses an air bearing pallet to move heavy loads, in this case ship cargo or heavy truck cargo from load areas to a truck bed with or without the aid of a fork lift truck.
In other fields, such as the die casting or plastic molding field, where heavy dies or molds must be moved between various locations e.g. mold storage, assembly and repair, as well as to and from machinery which additionally require raising and lowering the heavy loads to permit set-up and mounting operations, such devices have not been explored. A patent issued to Tezuka U.S. Pat. No. 3,457,874 did use pressured air trapped in pockets under a die set to move such set into position. However, the movement of large dies or mold such as used in the casting or injection molding industry have not been used.